Thanks to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's institution of a nationwide Voided Claim rule, a pair of Thoroughbreds have been returned to their original owners after testing positive for a prohibited substance.
Rule 2262 of the HISA Racetrack Safety Rules states that claimed horses will go to the test barn. Claims will be voided if the horse dies, is euthanized, or is vanned off the track, if the regulatory veterinarian determines the horse to have bled, be “physically distressed, medically compromised, unsound, or lame” within one hour of the race, or if the horse tests positive for a prohibited substance.
However, owners dropping a claim will be able to select an option on the claim form if they want the horse regardless of whether the horse is placed on the veterinarian's list, if the horse bleeds, or if the horse has a positive test post-race.
According to stewards' rulings reports issued by the HISA, the first voided claim under these circumstances was that of Pow Pow at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo. The 3-year-old filly won a $3,200 claiming race on July 3, 2022, when conditioned by trainer Stetson Mitchell on behalf of owner Ramseye Mitchell.
Pow Pow was tested as the first-place finisher in that race, and after leaving the test barn was handed over to the winning claimants: trainer John McDonald and owner Ronnie Roberts.
On July 15, the Colorado Division of Racing Events received a confirmed positive test on Pow Pow for the drug albuterol. Albuterol is a prohibited substance in Colorado and a horse is placed on the vet's list for 180 days as a result of the positive test from the primary laboratory.
On July 17, Pow Pow raced at Arapahoe for her new connections. The filly finished seventh and last in a $22,200 stakes race.
A report from Division of Racing Events policy analyst Zach Ceriani indicates that the HISA claim form, which allows owners to decline some voided claim protections, was not in use on July 3 because “it was the first day of the meet and we did not have access to the claim form.”
At that point, Pow Pow should have been immediately returned to owner Ramseye Mitchell, but there was a disagreement about whether the horse had to go back.
The next day, July 21, 2022, Mitchell signed a request for a split sample. That is the trainer's right, according to racing regulations in Colorado regarding post-race testing (HISA's prohibited substances rules do not go into effect until January of 2023).
The sample went out to the lab on Tuesday, Aug. 2. The commission was quoted up to six weeks for the return of those test results, after which a hearing will be held to determine a ruling for the positive test (pending appeal).
Meanwhile, despite the supposed 180 days Pow Pow is mandated to be on the vet's list, Equibase lists the filly as working a bullet three furlongs at Arapahoe on July 26, when she would still have been in new trainer John McDonald's care.
According to Division of Racing Events communication supervisor Suzanne Karrer, Pow Pow was placed on the vet's list for 180 days from July 15, 2022, through Jan. 11, 2023. The Division is looking into why PowPow was worked on July 26.
Pow Pow was eventually returned to her original owner's care, moving back into Stetson's barn on July 31.
To date, HISA has not received any information about an appeal of the voided claim for Pow Pow.
The second voided claim due to a prohibited substance occurred in connection with a race on July 5 at Mountaineer Park in New Cumberland, W.V.
Racing for owner Tracey Wisner and trainer Shane Spiess, Spice It Up finished second in a $15,000 optional claiming race. The 6-year-old was claimed out of that race by trainer Juan Pablo Silva on behalf of Tijuana Racing Stables.
A West Virginia Racing Commission ruling dated July 26 indicates that Spice It Up tested positive for flunixin after that July 5 race. Spiess waived his rights to a split sample and a hearing; the mare was disqualified and Spiess was issued a $500 fine.
In addition, Spice It Up was ordered returned to Wisner's ownership.
The concept of the void claim rule was first introduced in 2006 at the very first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, which was organized by The Jockey Club. At first, safety experts suggested a good rule would invalidate claims on horses who died in the course of a race or were euthanized on track due to a catastrophic injury. Since then, some jurisdictions have expanded the concept to give claimants the option to void if a horse is vanned off a racetrack with an injury, or situations where a horse is declared by an official veterinarian to be lame after the gallop out or in the test barn after the race.
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